Bellway warns of flagging house prices despite sales increase

Bellway warns of flagging house prices despite sales increase

The housebuilder has broken the 10,000 sales mark for the first time.

Bellway’s share price fell after the builder warned of flagging house prices (Bellway/PA)

Bellway has warned investors over flagging house prices, knocking its share price in morning trading.

The FTSE-250 builder sold 10,307 homes during the year ended July 31, the first time the company has sold more than 10,000.

Revenues grew 16% year on year to almost £3 billion, up from £2.6 billion the year before.

The value of the company’s forward order book, or home sales which have been agreed off-plan, also rose, from £1.29 billion to £1.30 billion.

The average price of a Bellway home increased by 9.4% to £284,900, compared with £260,354 a year earlier.

However, the company warned that there would be “more moderate” growth in house prices in the year ahead.

Bellway’s shares fell by 4.7% or 139p on the announcement to 2,834p.

Recent house price surveys have confirmed the UK property market in general is struggling to gain traction.

But, until now, the new-build market has remained the bright spot, thanks to Government support in the form of the Help to Buy initiative.

Jason Honeyman, Bellway’s newly-appointed chief executive, said: “Bellway has responded positively to the favourable market conditions, completing the sale of over 10,000 new homes for the first time in its history, whilst retaining a clear focus on quality and customer care.

“Trading has been robust and notwithstanding wider political and economic uncertainty in the UK, Bellway has both the financial and operational strength to respond opportunistically to future changes in market conditions.”